IDF eliminates Hezbollah weapons engineer in Tyre airstrike

The Israel Defense Forces announced on Wednesday that it had eliminated a senior Hezbollah weapons engineer in an airstrike in the Tyre area of Southern Lebanon.

According to the IDF, Hussein Nazih Barji was targeted by an Israeli aircraft earlier in the day in the Tyre region. Barji served as a key figure in Hezbollah’s weapons-production unit, operating within the terror group’s Research, Development and Production Directorate.

He was instrumental in establishing infrastructure for the manufacture of precision surface-to-surface missiles. The military said the strike was intended to impede Hezbollah’s efforts to rebuild its capabilities following Israel’s “Operation Northern Arrows.”

Barji’s unit has led multiple arms-production projects across the Lebanese theater, including systems to expand Hezbollah’s weapons supply chains. The IDF emphasized that his activity constituted a clear violation of the ceasefire understandings between Jerusalem and Beirut.

On Tuesday, the military confirmed the elimination of another senior Hezbollah commander in the village of Mansouri, also in the Tyre district. The operative had been responsible for planning attacks on Israel, reestablishing the Mansouri complex and facilitating weapons transfers. Video footage published by the military showed the strike targeting a moving vehicle.

The day before, a member of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force was eliminated in Houla, and over the weekend, another commander was killed near Mazraat Jemjim.

While most IDF ground forces have withdrawn since the Feb. 18 end of the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire, the army continues to maintain control over five strategic positions in Southern Lebanon, pending the Lebanese Army’s ability to ensure security in the region.